4 Tasting Notes

This is a great tea, although it took a couple tries before it grew on me.

I like to make this in a For-Life teapot that I have, and I probably don’t put nearly enough leaves in for the amount of water I use, but then I basically just keep the infuser in. It never seems to get overbrewed, and it’s just a very smooth, mildly tropical/fruity flavor. I love to make an extra large batch and then have the rest as iced tea the next morning, as it is great too.

A solid tea!

Preparation

I got this as the sample with the October 2012 mailer. Because I also ordered a package that month, I got a second newsletter/sample. My boyfriend and I drank them tonight.
Before brewing it smells really rummy, and brewed it smells/tastes overwhelmingly rummy. I think. I don’t drink alcohol, so I guess I don’t really know what rum tastes like, I’m just going off of my imagination… and my boyfriend says that no, it doesn’t taste like rum.
The rooibos flavor is hidden beneath the other flavors.
It does really taste like a butterscotch candy. I really don’t like butterscotch, so I didn’t care for this tea. My boyfriend loved it though, and he’s not particularly into tea, so that is bumping up the rating for me.

It’s confusing because the description says it’s a white tea, but the website says green, and it has the word “vert” in the title, so… who knows.

What I do know is that the “ume” in the title is the ume from “umeboshi.” Ume isn’t your typical Western purple plum, but this tart, green apricot/plum sort of thing that is often dried/pickled as red umeboshi. It’s supposed to be very good for recovery after sports. I like it with rice, but sometimes it’s made with a very bitter spice, and that’s what I was picking up on with this tea. I finished my cup, but I wouldn’t be too excited if I had ordered a whole container. There are too many other great teas from Lupicia!

If you love umeboshi though, you will love this tea!

Preparation

I was happy to find a bookstore on a recent trip that sold individual packets of the Tea Forte skin-smart line. I had been curious about them, but after buying a huge can of Honey Yuzu (which my boyfriend and I can’t stand!), I wasn’t willing to buy a whole container.
The bag smelled quite strongly of cinnamon, but I was surprised that it didn’t seem strongly brewed after 5 minutes. I left the bag in the tea as I drank it, hoping that the flavors would become more pronounced.
I think I can taste a bit of sweet apple at the start of each sip, and if I think about chocolate I can imagine its flavor as an aftertaste. But in a blind test I would never have come up with chocolate.
It is a light flavor, but very good for a decaf tea! I don’t usually like herbals and I’m not too fond of a strong rooibos flavor, but I don’t get a strong rooibos flavor from this tea.